Module Twelve...We Are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin

We Are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin by Larry Danne Brimner.

Brimmer, L. D. (2007).  We Are One:  The Story of Bayard Rustin.  Honesdale, PA:  Calkins Creek, Pub.

Summary:  This book is a short biography about the life of Bayard Rustin, an organizer of the August 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I have a dream speech.”  The story tells of Rustin’s family background, his youth in West Chester, Pennsylvania and his college years.  The book also weaves the struggle for civil rights of African Americans, throughout the story of Rustin’s life.  He was a pacifist.  He protested America’s involvement in World War II and the arrest of those that for not fighting.  He was a member of the Young Communist League (YCL) before the war but he was also a Quaker.  He fought for every person that was denied his or her rights as Americans.  The interesting footnote to the book, written by the author, was the fact that Rustin was  homosexual and he was very vocal about this.  The author states that his sexual orientation and his past as a member of the YCL meant those at the forefront of the movement often relegated him to being a background player during crucial moments in Civil Rights history.  There were many leaders who did not want to be publically associated with a homosexual man.

My Reaction:

I thought Rustin’s story was very interesting and very well written.  I believe it is an excellent biography for students.  The author does an excellent job of not only describing Rustin’s life but the plight of African Americans during this time in history.  The book did not shy away from showing pictures of those murdered by lynch mobs and other hellish images of the treatment of African Americans.  I am not sure if they were pictures that should be in a children’s book, but I do not work in a children’s library so I do not know what else is on the shelf.  I was also a little surprised that the author would not write about Rustin’s sexual orientation in the body of the book but would bring it up at the end of the book.  If it was important to mention here, why not mention is during the body of the book?

Reviews:

Kochel, M. (2007). We Are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin. School Library Journal, 53(11), 142-143.  Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed April 14, 2013).

 

Gr 6-10 --This is a captivating biography of the man who has been called the "intellectual engineer" of the Civil Rights Movement. The book begins and ends with the March on Washington, August 28, 1963, which Rustin organized. His mentor was A. Philip Randolph and he was a lifelong adviser to Martin Luther King, Jr. Rustin was a complex, multitalented man-he was a musician, an intellectual, an organizer, and a war objector who chose to go to prison rather than serve in World War II. He was a controversial figure partly because he was at one time a Communist and he was homosexual (the latter mentioned only in an author's note). Brimner keeps the focus on Rustin's work for social justice, including his being beaten and taken to the police station in 1942 for sitting at the front of a bus; his early restaurant sit-ins; and his Journey of Reconciliation, which was a precursor to the Freedom Rides. The author's writing is lively and clear, and he adeptly places Rustin in the larger context of the Jim Crow era and the Civil Rights Movement. The attractive design, with large, clear, black-and-white photographs and plenty of white space, enhances the readability of the text. Red and blue bars emphasize important quotations, lyrics to spirituals, and some photo captions. A gem for students studying the Civil Rights Movement and an excellent addition to any American history collection.

We Are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin. (2008). School Library Journal, 5456.

BRIMNER, Larry Dane.  Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed April 14, 2013).

 

Gr 6-10 An advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr. and organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, Rustin played a major role in the Civil Rights Movement. This large-format biography honors his singular contributions with numerous black-and-white photographs and a compelling, readable text. BOOK

Library Use:

This book can be used for any number of displays:  American History, Civil Rights History, African American History, and even LGBT history.